Six Months Later, California Democrats Have Done Basically Nothing To Rebuild From LA Fires

dailycaller.com

California and Los Angeles officials are touting the rapid recovery from January’s fires, but many residents say the praise is just smoke and mirrors.

Six months ago, the Los Angeles fires raged for a full week before firefighters could confidently declare them contained. Today, officials are hailing cleanup progress — even as rubble still clutters sidewalks and residents wait impatiently for permits to rebuild their homes and resume their lives.

Marking the six-month anniversary of the fire’s start, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the effort “the fastest recovery in state history,” according to the city’s website. (RELATED: Gavin Newsom’s Shawn Ryan Interview Did Not Go Well)

That same day, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced what he called the “substantial completion of the public debris removal program.”

“Nearly 10,000 homes cleared — months ahead of schedule — because recovery can’t wait,” Newsom said. “Now we turn the page to rebuilding, and we’re doing it with a clear plan, strong partnerships, and the urgency this moment demands.”

Conservative pundit Steve Hilton, who is running to replace Newsom as governor, dismissed those claims while standing amid a gutted building.

“How dare he take to the stage and brag about his response and lie to the people about a historic speed of debris removal when we can see the evidence of his lies, failure, and incompetence all around us,” Hilton said.

Of the 12,048 properties destroyed in the fire, 9,873 opted into the state’s cost-free public cleanup program, according to the governor’s office.

A state cleanup tracker shows that, as of publication, 66.7% of those parcels have completed Phase 2 of debris removal. That means the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already cleared hazardous household materials in Phase 1 and removed remaining ash and debris from 9,056 parcels — clearing the way for rebuilding.


Sarah Peterson, a Palisades resident whose home suffered severe smoke damage, told the Daily Caller she’s frustrated by the slow recovery and the gulf between political spin and lived reality.

“There’s a lot of talk,” Peterson said.

Peterson said progress moved quickly at first. Despite fears the EPA would drag its feet on Phase 1, she said she was surprised to see it wrapped up in about 30 days.

She called the EPA “the shining star of the whole recovery process,” noting that one crew member told her agents had been pulled from field offices nationwide to help clear Los Angeles.

But Peterson said city officials, including Mayor Bass, have made it difficult to hire private contractors or secure permits to begin rebuilding once lots are cleared, leaving many victims in limbo.

Nell Stephenson, who lost her home entirely, told the Caller she and her neighbors were “really gung-ho about rebuilding,” but that enthusiasm has waned.

“As the reality is setting, it’s just getting more messy and complicated,” she said.

Stephenson added that many of her former neighbors are still fighting to get building permits through a process she called “anything but streamlined and easy.”

“I only know a few people who are still 100%, ‘we’re doing it,'” Stephenson said.

ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 07: An aerial view of properties cleared of wildfire debris which burned in the Eaton Fire on July 07, 2025 in Altadena, California. Today is the six month anniversary of the Eaton and Palisades fires which claimed 30 lives and left more than 16,000 structures destroyed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has cleared more than 5,000 properties damaged in the Eaton Fire. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA – JULY 07: An aerial view of properties cleared of wildfire debris which burned in the Eaton Fire on July 07, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Stephenson said she hasn’t even reached the permitting stage because her family still hasn’t secured funding through insurance.

Like many California homeowners, she lost her private insurance before the fire when companies pulled out of high-risk areas. Now she’s relying on the state-mandated FAIR Plan, which offers only basic coverage.

She said the FAIR Plan has made matters worse by repeatedly switching adjusters — a “tactic,” she suspects, to delay or discourage payouts.

“We went through five different adjusters before we decided that this is ridiculous, we’re just going to have to eat the cost and hire an adjuster,” Stephenson said.

She lamented the loss of her gourmet kitchen, where she held cooking classes, but admitted she may have to move on for her young son’s sake, as rebuilding could take years.

“There has definitely been significant progress,” she said, but called local leaders’ claims “exaggerated” — especially Bass’s assertion that “homes are being rebuilt,” noting she saw only about three new homes during a Sunday drive to the farmers market.

Peterson accused Bass of taking credit for work she didn’t do, saying many of the permits the mayor touts were approved long ago. She also accused Bass of skewing statistics and prioritizing “giving money, cash and cards to illegal immigrants over making sure that city services are performed properly for tax-paying residents.”

“Unless you’re right here, you really have no idea what’s going on,” Stephenson told the Caller.

Bass’s office did not immediately respond to the Caller’s request for comment.